1.
Explain
the pun used in this passage. How does it contribute to the meaning of the
scene and play?
In
this passage, Romeo is determined to suck the fun out of everything because of
his depressed and heart broken feelings. The whole conversation with Romeo
admitting that he does not know how to dance, but now he changed his tone a bit
more serious and said it wouldn’t be a great decision to go to this feast at
all. Mercutio, his “cut-up” friend asks why, and Romeo tells him he had a dream
btu he doesn’t specify what it was about. Mercutio then imitates Romeo and says
he had a dream too and that it was about “dreamers often lie”. This is an extended
pun, but when they talk about dreamers the reader does not know if they’re
referring to dreamers actually lying by not saying the truth, or dreamers
actually laying down as to go to sleep because of the use of wording in “lie”.
The
way that this pun contributes to the scene is by calling Romeo a liar because
he might not be saying the truth on whether he wants to go to the feast or not.
That is why Romeo wittily replies with “In bed asleep, while they do dream
things true”. Clarifying that maybe as a
dreamer, he still says the truth and dreams of nothing but the truth itself.
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